Car covers are well known in the art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,257 (hereinafter referred to as '257), Kaya teaches a Vehicle Protective Cover that automatically retracts into a case. In the '257 patent, Kaya describes an array of linear cords of different lengths running from spools of different diameters to fixed points on a sheet/cover of material. Retraction force is distributed along the longitudinal direction only and, although the sheet material is compressed longitudinally into a bundle, the system does not control the width of the compressed bundle because pressure on the incoming compressed fabric causes sideways widening rather than compressing towards the center of the retracted pile of sheet material. Furthermore, the design does not prevent the formation of air pockets and run-away patches of sheet material from developing in the space between two incoming vertical cords in the sheet fabric. These air pockets and patches of material have the tendency to stick out from the case after complete retraction of the cords, which prevents an operator from closing a door or zipping a zipper without manually stuffing the remaining sheet material into the case.
Another drawback of the Kaya '257 patent is that the cords used for the retraction get tangled on the various spools when the sheet is manually extracted from the case. This occurs because the cords cannot be pulled evenly when the sheet is extracted. The tangled cords create significant problems upon “motorized” retraction of the sheet.
Due to the above mentioned drawbacks in the prior art protective covers, it was highly desirable to develop a new and improved protective cover system that avoids these drawbacks.